Credit crunch crutch
CompTIA, the global IT trade association with a pedigree in training, has launched a programme specifically designed to assist SMB resellers in these times of reduced global liquidity.
This marks CompTIA’s first foray into the reseller space in the UK, having previously confined itself mainly to offering vendor-level training and retraining. Now it appears to have identified a need for greater direct assistance to the channel.
It is being referred to only as a “business support programme” and isn’t free, costing £99. For that, however, you get a bunch of business planning, assessment and education tools including:
- Time with professional business consultants to review your business through the bespoke sales, marketing and website scorecards.
- Access to online workshops and seminars on how to improve aspects of your business including skills and marketing training.
- Access to over 25 years’ worth of experience through content on CompTIA’s member-only website including case studies, webcasts, white papers and marketing toolkits
- Through a series of agreements negotiated with partner companies, the programme also offers a range of employee lifestyle benefits, such reduced rates for hire cars and store.
“The UK channel is under threat from forces beyond its control,” said Matthew Poyiadgi, VP EMEA for CompTIA. “As the economic climate begins to change, resellers cannot expect to survive just by battening down the hatches - they need to adapt.
“But because most resellers are SMEs, they often need help making the right changes. We recognise that resellers need to focus on selling. Our programme is all about helping them create a business which runs itself so they can get on and close the deals that are crucial to their survival.”
Poyiadgi was also rash enough to volunteer his email address to anyone who wants to know more, so here it is: mpoyiadgi@comptia.org.
It’s not clear whether this marks a formal move into the trade association space in the UK by CompTIA. It has been one in the States for years but, to date, has confined itself to training in the UK.
We understand that CompTIA will be exhibiting at Channel Expo later today, so if it is making a move into the UK trade association space it will be interesting to see what the guys at the PCA and ITACS have to say about it.
HEXUS.channel will be there too and will bring you any developments as they happen.
